Skill type projectile game

ABSTRACT

A skill type game which includes two opposed playing areas and a launching device for each playing area which is selectively operable by individual players of the game for propelling a ball toward one of a plurality of common, movable targets located between the playing areas. The targets are in the general shape of hammers pivotally mounted on a divider between the two playing areas so as to pivot from one playing area to the other playing area after being hit by one of the balls. The game includes a locking device to block movement of the target hammers, for instance when either player has moved all the targets from his playing area to the opponent&#39;&#39;s playing area.

United States Patent Breslow 1 Aug. 5, 1975 [54] SKILL TYPE PROJECTILE GAME 3,690.664 9/l972 Huuke 273/l27 D [75] Inventor: Jeffrey D. Breslow, Highland Park, THER P BLICATIONS Flippo N0. 1280, Amsco Toys 1966 Catalog, [73] Assignee: Marvin Glass & Associates, March 1966 Chica lll.

g0 Primary Eraminer-Rlchard C. Pmkham i 1 Filedl 1974 Assistant Examiner-R T1 Stouffer [2 1 Appl No; 447,874 Attorney, Agent, or FirmCoffee & Sweeney [57} ABSTRACT [52] US. Cl z 273/122 R; 273/127 D A skin type game which includes two Opposed playing Clv 1 4 1 areas and a launching device for each area [58] Fleld of Search 273/118 H8 119 which is selectively operable by individual players of 273/[20 121 122 123 124 125 the game for propelling a ball toward one of a plural- 127 [27 127 127 [27 D ity of common. movable targets located between the playing areas. The targets are in the general shape of [56] References cued hammers pivotally mounted on a divider between the UNITED STATES PATENTS two playing areas so as to pivot from one playing area 196.982 11/1877 Lyman 7. 273/123 R to the other playing area after being hit by one of the 1.163.102 12/1915 Morgan 273/119 R balls, The game includes a locking device to block 1.942.476 1/1934 Harris .4 273/119 R movement f th tar t hammers for instance when g z tt I: either player has moved all the targets from his playc aeer t 2.710755 6/1955 Craig .7 273/122 R mg are! 0 the Opponent S pllymg are, 1635.476 1/1972 Breslow et all 273/127 D X 5 Claims, 6 Drawing Figures 10 32 /4&

ll Pe SHEET PATENTED 5l975 SKILL TYPE PROJECTILE GAME BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The invention relates to skill type games designed for the entertainment of the players and for developing dexterity, timing and coordination for the individual players, as well as competition between the players.

There are various entertaining games presently avail able which have projectiles of various sizes and shapes which are projected toward target areas. A plurality of receiving positions are provided for the projectiles normally providing means for scoring a game. Still other games have projectiles which are propelled toward receiving positions randomly spaced and variably scored to provide an entertaining game. Most games of the lat ter type of games are played primarily on the principle on chance. Such games are provided for educational or competitive purposes or solely as entertainment devices. game wherein propelled objects or balls are pro jected by the players of the game toward a plurality of pivotally mounted hammer" shaped targets which are mounted for movement back and forth from one playing area to the other playing area about their pivotal axes. In order to win the game, a player must move all of the targets from his respective playing area to the opponents respective playing area.

A principal object, therefore, of the present invention is to provide a new skill type game of the character described.

More specifically, the invention includes the combination of a plurality of launchable objects, or balls, a game board having two opposing playing areas, each playing area having at least one launching station for receiving at least one of said launchable objects. A divider is mounted between the playing areas and a plurality of the movable hammer shaped targets are pivotally mounted on the divider and movable about pivotal axes from back and forth between the playing areas in response to being struck by a ball. A selectively opera ble launching device is positioned at each launching station for propelling a ball toward one of said targets, whereby the ball impinges the hammer end of the target and pivots it into the opposing playing area.

The playing areas are slanted downwardly from the divider toward the launching devices so that the balls return by gravity to the launching device.

Other objects, features and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a skill type game embodying the concepts of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a partial, top plan view of the game of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a partial vertical section, taken generally along the line 33 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a vertical section, taken generally along the line 44 of FIG. 2 with the locking means in its unlocked position;

FIG. 5 is a fragmented view similar to FIG. 4, showing the locking means in its locked position; and

FIG. 6 is a fragmented vertical view, similar to FIG. 3, showing the direction of movement of one of the hammer shaped targets after contact by one of the launchable balls.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring to FIG. 1, the game of the present invention, generally designated I0, includes a generally elongated housing I2 having support walls 14 on either side thereof. Two playing areas 16 and 18 are formed on the top of the housing 12. A launchable object in the form of a ball 20 is rollingly supported on each playing area I6 and 18. The playing areas 16 and 18 slant downwardly away from the center of the housing I2 and are bounded on their sides by guide walls 22. The guide walls 22 converge toward one another as the distance from the center of the housing 12 increases so as to direct the ball 20 back to a launching station, generally designated 26, at each end of the housing. Selectively operable launching means, generally designated 28, are provided at each launching station 26. A plurality of targets, generally designated 32, are pivotally mounted at the center of the housing I2 in association with a pivot arm stop means, generally designated 34.

The housing 12 includes a centrally disposed two-tier barrier or divider, generally designated 36 (FIG. 3). The first step 38 of the barrier 36 includes an extended vertical ridge 40 for supporting the targets 32, as described in greater detail hereinafter. The second step 44 of the barrier 36 provides the pivotal mount for the targets 32.

More particularly, four slots 45 are provided in the second or top step 44, as seen in FIGS. 2 and 3. A shaft 46 is journalled in a plurality of tabs 47 depending from the underside of the step 44 to pivotally mount the targets 32. Each target 32 includes a handle or pivot arm portion 48 which, at one end, is disposed in the slots 45 and slidably receives the shaft 46. A hammerhead 50 is secured to the other or outermost movable end of each pivot arm 48. The hammerheads 50 include a pointed portion 52 on each end formed by two angled flat surfaces 56 (FIGS. 3 and 6). The verticai ridges 40, as previously mentioned, support by gravity the pivot arm 48 of each target and holds the hammerhead 50 in a position such that a ball 20 rolling up the playing areas 16 and 18 will contact one of the surfaces 56 of the target 32. Thus, as seen in FIG. 6, a ball 20 which contacts the surface 56 at sufficient speed will cause the target 32 to move upwardly in the direction of arrow A from one side of the barrier 36 to the other into the opposing players playing area.

Referring now to the right of FIG. 3, each launching means 28 includes a plunger 60 for striking a ball 20. The plunger 60 is slidably mounted in a generally cylindrical plunger housing 62. The housing 62 is pivotally mounted by a pin 64 so that the launching means 28 can be pivoted to direct a ball 20 toward any one of the targets 32. The plunger 60 includes a lock washer 65 in engagement with a spring 66 coiled about the plunger within the housing 62 so that the plunger 60 can be pulled against the biasing force of the spring and released to strike the ball 20 and propel it toward one of the targets 32. The lock washer also defines a stop for abutting a shoulder 67 within the housing.

The pivot arm stop means 34 is seen in FIGS. 4 and 5. The stop means 34 will prevent rotation of the pivot arms 48 when it is properly positioned by one of the players of the game. Thus, after one player has moved all or any given number of the targers 32 (i.e., the hammerhead ends) to the opponents side of the barrier 36, he may move the stop means 34 which prevents his op ponent from returning any of the targets, thereby signalling a win.

More particularly, the stop means 34 includes a flat shaft or bar 70 which is slidably mounted in two rectangular openings 72 in the side walls 14 of the housing 12. The shaft 70 includes four notches 74 on its upwardly facing side, one notch normally being positioned directly beneath each pivot arm 48 so as not to interfere with the movement thereof. Each pivot arm 48 has a portion 73 which extends beyond the pivotal shaft 46 and which can move through the respective notch 74 as the target 32 rotates about the shaft 46. Two knobs 76 are secured to each end of the bar 70 to aid in manually sliding of the bar lengthwise. As seen in FIG. 4, the targets 32 are free to rotate and the ends 73 of the pivot arms will move in notches 74 so as not to contact shaft 70. However, at any time, for instance, when all of the targets 32 are projected to one side of the barrier 36, signalling a victory for a player, that player may move the bar 70 to the position shown in FIG. where the ends 73 of the pivot arms 48 will engage the shaft 70 and be prevented from being projected back across the barrier or divider 36.

The game also includes a counter, generally designated 80, as seen in FIG. I. The counter 80 comprises a plurality of holes 82 in the housing into which a peg 84 can be successively inserted. lndicia 86 is printed on the housing next to the holes 82 to indicate the score as the peg 84 is successively moved along the series of holes.

The foregoing detailed description has been given for clearness of understanding only and no unnecessary limitations should be understood therefrom as some modifications will be obvious to those skilled in the art.

l claim:

1. A skill type game comprising:

a plurality of spherical launchable objects;

a frame defining a game board having two opposing adjoining playing areas bounded by side retaining walls and a launching station in each playing area for receiving a launchable object and so as to define a pair of opposing launching stations, the surface of the playing areas sloping downwardly from a midportion of the game board to said launching stations to return said spherical objects thereto;

upright wall means of said frame mounted between the playing areas and extending between said side retaining walls at said midportion for providing a barrier between the playing area, which wall means prevents one players launchable object from being launched from his playing area into the other players playing area;

a plurality of movable hammershaped targets pivotally mounted on said barrier with each target having only a single hammerhead portion wherein said single hammerhead portion is movable back and forth through an arc of approximately 180 defined by opposing rest positions whereat each target is supported by said frame in said playing areas at said rest positions on opposite sides of said barrier, each of said targets including an oblique object contact surface on both the top and bottom thereof facing said launching stations when in either of said rest positions whereby the bottom oblique contact surface is engageable by a launchable object launched over the respective playing area toward the target; and

selectively operable launching means associated with each launching station for propelling one of said objects therefrom toward one of the plurality of targets whereby a successful launch of an object causes the object to impinge the bottom oblique contact surface of a target and pivot the target to the opposing player's side of the barrier.

2. The game of claim I wherein the hammerhead portion of each target is mounted on the free swinging end of an arm pivotally mounted on the game board on a generally horizontal axis extending between said side retaining walls, said pivotally mounted arm being mounted to provide for movement of said free swinging end upwardly about said axis from a generally horizontal position defining one of said rest positions on one side of said barrier to a generally horizontal diametrically opposed position defining the other of said rest positions on the opposite side of said barrier.

3. The device of claim 2 including selectively positively operable pivot arm locking means which prevents rotation of the pivot arms.

4. A skill type game comprising:

a plurality of launchable objects;

a game board having two opposing adjoining playing areas and a launching station in each playing area for receiving a launchable object and so as to define a pair of opposing launching stations;

upright wall means mounted between the playing areas for providing a barrier therebetween;

a plurality of movable hammer-shaped targets pivot ally mounted on said barrier with each target having a single hammerhead portion movable back and forth between rest positions in said playing areas on opposite sides of said barrier, each of said targets including an oblique object contact surface on both the top and bottom thereof facing said launching stations when in either of said rest positions whereby the bottom oblique contact surface is engageable by a launchable object launched over the respective playing area toward the target, each target being mounted on the free swinging end of an arm pivotally mounted on the game board on a generally horizontal axis extending transverse to a line extending between said launching areas for movement upwardly about said axis from a generally horizontal position defining the rest position on one side of said barrier to a generally horizontal diametrically opposed position defining the rest position on the opposite side of said barrier;

selectively operable launching means associated with each launching station for propelling one of said objects therefrom toward one of the plurality of targets whereby a successful launch of an object causes the object to impinge the bottom oblique contact surface of a target and pivot the target to the opposing players side of the barrier; and

selectively positively operable pivot arm locking means to prevent rotation of the pivot arms, said locking means including a shaft mounted on the upright wall means in proximity to the pivotal axis of the pivot arms, said shaft being movable between a locked position and an unlocked position, and including a plurality of detents in alignment with the pivot arms to permit rotation of said pivot arms when the shaft is in the unlocked position and to prevent rotation of said pivot arms when the shaft is in the locked position.

5. A game device, comprising:

a plurality of launchable objects;

a game board having two opposing playing areas with divider means therebetween, each playing area having at least one launching station for receiving at least one of said launchable objects;

a plurality of targets movably mounted on the game board in the area of said divider means for movement from one side of said divider means to the other side of the divider means;

selectively operable launching means at each launching station for propelling said objects therefrom toward said targets whereby said objects striking said targets move the targets from one side of the divider means to the other as the players attempt to be the first to move all the targets to the opposing players side of the divider means; and

means movably mounted in the area of said divider means for selectively positively blocking movement of said targets by engagement therewith, said movable blocking means including a shaft mounted on said divider means in proximity to said targets, said shaft being movable between a locked position and an unlocked position, and including a plurality of detents in alignment with said targets to permit movement thereof when the shaft is in the unlocked position and to prevent movement of the targets when the shaft is in the locked position with said detents out of alignment with the targets. I! i =0 

1. A skill type game comprising: a plurality of spherical launchable objects; a frame defining a game board having two opposing adjoining playing areas bounded by side retaining walls and a launching station in each playing area for receiving a launchable object and so as to define a pair of opposing launching stations, the surface of the playing areas sloping downwardly from a midportion of the game board to said launching stations to return said spherical objects thereto; upright wall means of said frame mounted between the playing areas and extending between said side retaining walls at said midportion for providing a barrier between the playing area, which wall means prevents one player''s launchable object from being launched from his playing area into the other player''s playing area; a plurality of movable hammershaped targets pivotally mounted on said barrier with each target having only a single hammerhead portion wherein said single hammerhead portion is movable back and forth through an arc of approximately 180* defined by opposing rest positions whereat each target is supported by said frame in said playing areas at said rest positions on opposite sides of said barrier, each of said targets including an oblique object contact surface on both the top and bottom thereof facing said launching stations when in either of said rest positions whereby the bottom oblique contact surface is engageable by a launchable object launched over the respective playing area toward the target; and selectively operable launching means associated with each launching station for propelling one of said objects therefrom toward one of the plurality of targets whereby a successful launch of an object causes the object to impinge the bottom oblique contact surface of a target and pivot the target to the opposing player''s side of the barrier.
 2. The game of claim 1 wherein the hammerhead portion of each target is mounted on the free swinging end of an aRm pivotally mounted on the game board on a generally horizontal axis extending between said side retaining walls, said pivotally mounted arm being mounted to provide for movement of said free swinging end upwardly about said axis from a generally horizontal position defining one of said rest positions on one side of said barrier to a generally horizontal diametrically opposed position defining the other of said rest positions on the opposite side of said barrier.
 3. The device of claim 2 including selectively positively operable pivot arm locking means which prevents rotation of the pivot arms.
 4. A skill type game comprising: a plurality of launchable objects; a game board having two opposing adjoining playing areas and a launching station in each playing area for receiving a launchable object and so as to define a pair of opposing launching stations; upright wall means mounted between the playing areas for providing a barrier therebetween; a plurality of movable hammer-shaped targets pivotally mounted on said barrier with each target having a single hammerhead portion movable back and forth between rest positions in said playing areas on opposite sides of said barrier, each of said targets including an oblique object contact surface on both the top and bottom thereof facing said launching stations when in either of said rest positions whereby the bottom oblique contact surface is engageable by a launchable object launched over the respective playing area toward the target, each target being mounted on the free swinging end of an arm pivotally mounted on the game board on a generally horizontal axis extending transverse to a line extending between said launching areas for movement upwardly about said axis from a generally horizontal position defining the rest position on one side of said barrier to a generally horizontal diametrically opposed position defining the rest position on the opposite side of said barrier; selectively operable launching means associated with each launching station for propelling one of said objects therefrom toward one of the plurality of targets whereby a successful launch of an object causes the object to impinge the bottom oblique contact surface of a target and pivot the target to the opposing player''s side of the barrier; and selectively positively operable pivot arm locking means to prevent rotation of the pivot arms, said locking means including a shaft mounted on the upright wall means in proximity to the pivotal axis of the pivot arms, said shaft being movable between a locked position and an unlocked position, and including a plurality of detents in alignment with the pivot arms to permit rotation of said pivot arms when the shaft is in the unlocked position and to prevent rotation of said pivot arms when the shaft is in the locked position.
 5. A game device, comprising: a plurality of launchable objects; a game board having two opposing playing areas with divider means therebetween, each playing area having at least one launching station for receiving at least one of said launchable objects; a plurality of targets movably mounted on the game board in the area of said divider means for movement from one side of said divider means to the other side of the divider means; selectively operable launching means at each launching station for propelling said objects therefrom toward said targets whereby said objects striking said targets move the targets from one side of the divider means to the other as the players attempt to be the first to move all the targets to the opposing player''s side of the divider means; and means movably mounted in the area of said divider means for selectively positively blocking movement of said targets by engagement therewith, said movable blocking means including a shaft mounted on said divider means in proximity to said targets, said shaft being movable between a locked position and an unlocked position, and including a plurality of detents in alIgnment with said targets to permit movement thereof when the shaft is in the unlocked position and to prevent movement of the targets when the shaft is in the locked position with said detents out of alignment with the targets. 